Senate urges moment of silence for Munich 11

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The Senate unanimously passed a resolution urging the International Olympic Committee to observe a moment of silence at the 2012 London Olympics for the Munich 11.

The Senate resolution, which passed June 25, is part of a larger global effort calling on the IOC to honor the 11 Israeli athletes and coaches who were murdered at the 1972 Games in Munich by members of the Palestinian terrorist group Black September. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) introduced the measure.

A similar resolution introduced in the House of Representatives by Reps. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) and Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) was passed unanimously by the House Foreign Affairs Committee but has not been brought to the House floor.

An ongoing worldwide petition seeking a moment of silence at the London Games that was organized by the athletes’ families was rejected by the IOC. Several countries have passed resolutions requesting that the IOC remember the fallen athletes with a moment of silence. — jta